Yesterday’s NPD report for the month of June revealed that the video game industry is in an upswing . Amidst the very good news was the latest in a long of line of major titles that definitively swung toward the current market leader. Before NPD released its report, Sony issued a statement letting...
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The audio team at 343 Industries is putting an enormous amount of effort into the sound track of Halo 5: Guardians. They spent time recording the series' iconic Gregorian monk chants in one of the best-known acoustic churches in Europe, and got shot at with real guns just to capture intense battle...
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Developer 343 Industries iterates on multiplayer maps for thousands of man-hours before it lands on a design that feels endlessly repayable. This means that even the slightest details of a map are scrutinized under a magnifying glass. In order to get a better understanding of Fathom’s ins-and-outs...
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It was only a matter of time before the concept of paying for unfinished games made its way to consoles. At Gamescom last year, Sony announced DayZ is coming to PlayStation 4, sounding the warning bell. At E3 2015, Microsoft took the plunge as well. The Xbox One team announced “Game Preview,”...
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Over the last fourteen years, countless stories have been told within the Halo universe. We've followed humanity's struggle against the alien Covenant, the god-like Forerunners, and the parasitic Flood through the eyes of a wide roster of characters. Much of it has been told in a variety of media...
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At Microsoft's press conference, the brand-new original IP, ReCore was revealed for the first time. The Xbox One exclusive teams Keiji Inafune and his studio, Comcept, with Armature, and Microsoft Studios. We spoke with Inafune and Armature's Mark Pacini to learn more about the project, the canceled...
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Like every virtual reality or augmented reality technology, it's difficult to absorb the experience just by watching a video or seeing a stage presentation. I tried out several demos to put the latest iterations of Microsoft's HoloLens through its paces. The first step is to get the distance...
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It's E3 time again, which means a lot of structures are being erected in honor of the industry's most exciting video games, and we took pictures of them. We will surely become intimately familiar with these balloons when we get our hands on Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain later this year...
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Yesterday, Microsoft took the stage to make its case that the next 12 months will be a big year for Xbox One. While the company finally abandoned talk of both 360 and Kinect, it offered up new initiatives in virtual and augmented reality, and showcased a bevy of exclusives, including impressive gameplay...
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Earlier today, 343 Industries revealed the new Halo 5: Guardian’s multiplayer mode, Warzone. This aims to take all the depth of a traditional Halo multiplayer match and layer in elements from the series’ single-player experience. Weeks ago, during our recent Halo 5: Guardian’s cover...
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E3 is always full of surprise appearance and announcements, but ahead of the show there are always a few titles we know won’t be showing up. These are games we would love to learn more about, but its creators have openly acknowledged they will not be appearing, in the interest of tempering our...
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During last year’s Halo: Nightfall five-part digital series, fans were introduced to Jameson Locke, a capable soldier and ONI Acquisitions Specialist sent to investigate Covenant activity on the planet Sedra. For Halo 5: Guardians, Locke has been promoted to Spartan and tasked with hunting down...
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Master Chief has become one of the most iconic characters in gaming, but for Halo 5: Guardians he won't be riding solo. This time around, the Chief is joined by three of his fellow schoolmates that help make up Blue Team. In spite of Halo's wealth of transmedia, 343 Industries has stated that...
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With the events of Gears of War 3, players received closure to the story of Marcus and Dom. Following the prequel entry, Gears of War: Judgment, Epic Games detached itself from the series and sold the IP rights to Microsoft, who handed the franchise to a new studio full of veterans of both the series...
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Over the past four days, you've read our predictions for the big three platform holders ( Microsoft , Sony , and Nintendo ) and third parties . Beginning today, we reframe the conversation to look at what the companies need to do to lift their grade over last year's performance. We kick things...
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As the image above proclaims, E3 2015 is a mere two weeks away. In preparation for the show, we're sharing our predictions and hopes for the publishers and developers that will be appearing and presenting. Here's what we have for Microsoft. An Xbox One dashboard redesign One of the biggest complaints...
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Microsoft launched the Xbox 360 in 2005, kicking off the last generation of gaming. This was the most successful period for the company to date; with its excellent Xbox Live service and deep support from third-party developers, the Xbox 360 in many ways became the defining console of the last generation...
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While a lot of gamers are moving onto the new-gen consoles, not everyone experienced the benefits of Microsoft's system during the last generation. Thankfully, it's not too late. Not only is the hardware cheaper, but there is a greater wealth of Xbox 360 content to explore than ever before. Microsoft's...
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This weekend, Major League Gaming and Activision are hosting the third annual Call of Duty Championship. Here's a quick cheat sheet for those of you planning to tune in. What Is It? The Call of Duty Championship are Activision's attempt to create a worldwide event around its popular shooting...
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We're a quarter of the way through 2015, let's take a look back at what's already been a very eventful year in the video game industry. From big announcements like Nintendo making games for the mobile market to big shakeups in Konami's Metal Gear franchise, there's already been a...
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